Backstory: How Research Papers in Economics Get Made Riccardo Di Cato, Aakash Bhalothia, and Santiago Cantillo

In this episode, Aakash talks to Girija Borker, an Economist at DIME, World Bank. They discuss her paper titled "Safety First: Perceived Risk of Street Harassment and Educational Choices of Women". Dive in to learn how Girija went about identifying important problems related to gender, and her perspectives on learning the best tools to answer questions, risk mitigation strategies, and motivation for research. 

Join Santiago as he delves into conversation with Martin Mattsson from the National University of Singapore about his working paper titled "Formalizing Dispute Resolution: Effects of Village Courts in Bangladesh". Martin tells us the backstory of a large-scale RCT covering 6 million people, the value of trust in overcoming challenges when dealing with multiple government branches, and some of the experiences that prepared him to conduct such an intervention. He also shares his perspective on how to start research projects and ensure their relevance for policy. You can find the working paper here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4740074

In this episode, join Riccardo as he engages with Doug Gollin, a Professor at Tufts University, discussing his paper “High-Frequency Human Mobility in Three African Countries”. This conversation uncovers the intricacies of approaching data-driven projects, maximizing the potential of research ideas, and the complexities involved in managing large datasets. Doug also shares valuable insights on the critical considerations necessary when preparing to share findings with academic audiences. Here is the link to the working paper: https://economics.ucr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/11-30-2020-Gollin.pdf

Santiago talks to Vincent Pons, Associate Professor at Harvard Business School, about his paper: 'Keep your Enemies Closer: Strategic Platform Adjustments during U.S. and French Elections'. Vincent shares his thoughts on deciding to make upfront investments in data collection, how his political curiosity took him to be a national field coordinator for a presidential campaign and how he has used that experience in his research.

In this episode, Santiago sits down with Teresa Molina, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and current visitor at UCSD. They delve into her paper, 'An Examination of Intergenerational Mobility in the Philippines.' The discussion highlights the paper's origins, the crucial role of having the right collaborators, and the valuable contributions of motivated undergraduate students. They also explore the evolution of a research agenda from graduate school through the early years as an assistant professor. The episode concludes with invaluable advice for graduate students. Tune in to hear more!

Join us in conversation with Bryce Steinberg, Assistant Professor of Economics at Brown University, as we delve into her paper, "Family Planning, Now and Later: Infertility Fear and Contraception Take-Up." This discussion offers a comprehensive look into the fieldwork process from start to finish. Along the way, we uncover intriguing research questions that surfaced during the study and share anecdotes that provide a unique glimpse into the world of field research.